Folding carton with internal reinforcing structure



July 31, 1962 R. s. WOLOWICZ FOLDING CARTON WITH INTERNAL REINFORCING STRUCTURE Filed March 13, 1961 United States Paten 3,047,204 FOLDING CARTON WITH INTERNAL REINFORCING STRUCTURE Richard S. Wolowicz, Chicago, 11]., assignor to Container Corporation of America, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 13, 1961, Ser. No. 95,159 2 Claims. (Cl. 229-41) This invention relates to folding paperboard cartons of the type commonly employed in the packaging of soap or detergent powders and flakes and other materials havsimilar characteristics.

It is a well known fact in the packaging industry that when paperboard cartons are filled with heavy powders, such as granules of soap, as the material settles it exerts a lateral pressure causing the sides of the carton to bow outwardly especially at the lower portion of the carton.

This is highly undesirable, because when filled cartons are out of square they do not pass through the packaging machinery properly, and also, they displace a greater amount of space than squared cartons of the same capacity so as to require larger, and more expensive, shipping containers.

In the past it has been necessary to combat the problem of bowing cartons by utilizing heavier caliper board to form these cartons, or by using intricate cellular structures which require an appreciable additional amount of board and thereby increase the cost of the carton.

It is an object of this invention, therefore, to provide a carton of the type described, having a relatively simple and inexpensive internal reinforcing cellular structure.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide, in a carton of the type described, an integral internal rein-forcing cellular structure requiring a minimum quantity of board and affording a maximum degree of resistance to outward bowing or other deformation of the carton.

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from an examination of the following description and drawings, wherein:

FIGUREl is a fragmentary perspective view of a set-up carton embodying features of the invention, with portions of the outer structure removed to permit viewing of the inner structure;

FIGURE 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken on line 22 of FIGURE 1, with a carton shown in a collapsed condition, and with the contour of the set-up carton shown in broken lines; and

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the blank from which the carton of the previous views is formed.

It will be understood that, for purposes of clarity, certain elements have been intentionally omitted from certain views where they are illustrated to better advantage in other views.

Referring now to the drawings for a better understanding of the invention, and particularly to FIGURE 3, it will be seen that the carton may be formed from a one piece blank, indicated generally at 10, of suitable sheet material such as foldable paperboard. The blank comprises a pair of generally rectangular front and rear side wall panels 12 and 14, respectively, and a pair of generally rectangular left and right (as seen in FIGURES l and 3) end' wall panels 1 6 and 18, respectively, which are hingedly attached to each other along parallel vertical hinge lines.

At their upper and lower edges the side and end wall panels have hingedly attached thereto along parallel hinge lines pairs of side and end closure flaps and 22, respectively. Also, hingedly attached to the free vertical end edge of front side wall panel 12 is a relatively thin vertically extending glue flap 24, which may be adhesively 3,047,204 Patented .July 31, 1962 secured to the inner surface of adjacent end wall panel indicated generally at 30, is an integral part of the blank and is connected to the glue flap in a manner hereinafter described. As best seen in FIGURE 1 the reinforcing member 30 includes a generally U-shaped element or panel extending from the glue flap, and a generally rectangular element or panel 34 which may be out from the U-shaped element 32 and may be hingedly connected to the U-shaped element along the generally vertically extending hinge line 36.

The rectangular element 34 includes a pair of generally flat rectangular side and cross sections 40 and 42, respectively, which are hingedly connected to each at a vertical hinge line 44, and which are disposed at right angles to each other with the side section 40* lying parallel to and in full face abutting engagement with the inner surface of the rear side wall 14 of the carton, and with the cross element 42 extending across the carton in parallel relation to the end walls 16 and 18' and interconnecting sidesecti-on 40 of the rectangular element with a vertical strip 50 of the .U-shaped element 32.

Still referring to FIGURE 1 it will be seen that the vertical strip 50 of the U-shaped element is connected to the glue flap of the car-ton by a pair of upper and lower generally parallel horizontal strips 52, each of which are divided into three sections 54, 56 and 58, which are, in turn, hingedly connected to each other and to the glue 24 by the hinge lines 60, 62, and 64, respectively. The vertical strip 50 is adhesively secured to the inner surface of the front side wall 12 of the carton with the vertically spaced horizontal strips 52 being free from' attachment to the carton except at the hinge line 64 which connect the end sections 58 to the glue flap 24 of the carton. Also, it will be noted that the end sections 54 of the strip are disposed in parallel full face engagement with the inner surface of the front side wall 14 of the carton and also extend parallel to section 40 of the rectangular element of the reinforcing member. The other sections 56 and 58 of the horizontal strips are disposed at an acute angle relative to each other and to the walls of the carton. By this particular arrangementthe carton is free to be collapsed to the position shown in FIGURE 2 of the drawings, so that it can be pre-glued and shipped in collapsed condition.

When the carton is filled with soap or detergent powder or other materials which tend to settle toward the bottom of the carton, the novel cellular structure, which has been cut from a portion of the carton blank, will resist movement of the Walls of the carton away from each other so as to prevent bowing of the carton and maintain the carton in a rigid rectilinear or squared condition.

I claim:

l. A collapsible carton for-granular material formed from a single blank of foldable paperboard, comprising:

(a) a pair of spaced, parallel side walls;

(b) a pair of spaced, parallel end walls hingedly interconneoted to corresponding side edges of said side walls to define a tubular structure;

(0) end closure flaps hinged to opposite end edges of certain of said walls and foldable into overlapped relation to close the ends of said tubular structure; and

(d) a reinforcing structure secured to and extending transversely between said side walls to prevent their movement away from each other and thereby maintain the carton in squared condition;

(2) said reinforcing structure being spaced inwardly from said end closure flaps to provide openings between the reinforcing structure and the opposite ends of the carton;

The internal reinforcing structure or cellular member, I

(f) said reinforcing structure including a pair of generally flat first and second panels adhesively secured to opposed inner surfaces of respective side walls and interconnected by a third panel hinged to said first and second panels;

(g) said first and third panels being cut from said second panel.

, 2. A collapsible carton according to claim 1, wherein said third panel is hingedly attached to an end wall of the carton.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Miller Jan. 9, 1912 Currivan July 1, 1958 Smith Sept. 30, 1958 Bates July 7, 1959 Turpin May 9, 1961 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,047,204 July 31, 1962 Richard S. Wolowicz It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered petent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 2, line 30 after "glue" insert flap column 3, line 9, for "third" read second Signed and sealed this 28th day of July 1964.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD J. BRENNER Commissioner of Patents ESTON G. JOHNSON Attesting Officer 

